Reviews

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

slovenlymuse's review against another edition

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3.0

This book had such a fantastic concept, but the execution left me wanting. Despite some great characters and twists, it was not a fun read.

nurullahdogan's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

2.75

rubynyu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

ashlychn's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

gamecocksara's review against another edition

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2.0

2.5 stars. Interesting concept, but it just… didn't come together for me.

jean_atlas's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit I loved this one. It's very dark, and I can tell it will linger in my mind for days. The only thing I wasn't super keen on was the budding romance between Dan and Kirby, mostly due to the age gap. I appreciate the care the author took to show Dan isn't a scumbag and falls in love with who Kirby is. Also the whole "does Harper make Kirby a shining girl by not finishing the job" and how his actions effect the womans' trajectories is so fascinating. I'll need to stew on this one.

emmastewart11's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

photojeff's review against another edition

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3.0

Not a masterpiece, but I enjoyed it.

readmore0304's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Graphic violence against a dog automatically knocks this down for me. The chapter about Kirby’s attack could have been very different and still had a strong effect. Instead, it made me want to throw my phone across the room and take a break from reading for several days. Not even the ending was satisfying. End result: could have been good…

wolfbridge's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

2.0

Incredibly one-note and monotonous. Not worth spending time on, even if you like her other novels.